The Coping Method
by LeyCoo
Summary: Three years have passed since the Great War, and Naruto and the gang have managed to still smile and lead their lives regularly after all that's happened. Sasuke can't seem to be a happy as all the others are, though, considering Naruto hasn't spoken a word to him since he came back and all he wants is his friend back. The question is how? SasuNaru. Mpreg. Yaoi.
1. Chapter 1

**Yo! My first attempt at fanfiction here! Actually, it's not my first. In middle school I tried, but then my laziness and attention span got the best of me and then I forget what my password was and then I didn't read fanfiction for a year.**

**So, yeah! This one counts as my first, I guess. I don't think I'll forget about this one as it's been in my head for a little over a month now to the point that I had to actually write it down.  
><strong>

**Disclaimer: If Naruto belonged to me, Sasuke wouldn't be so much of an ass, my babies wouldn't be dead, and my face would be on the Hokage Mountain cuz I'm cool like that. But it doesn't, so none these things can happen. Curse you, Kishimoto-sensei!**

**Warning: This is a SasuNaru fic. Meaning gay mansex and there will be Mpreg later on... maybe... yes. Yes, there will be Mpreg. If you do not like gay mansex, please turn away now or you will just be that unwanted and unhappy reader.**

**Anyway, enjoy~**

* * *

><p><strong>Chapter One<strong>

**We've Come So Far**

Looking out at the village from the Hokage Mountain, he took in all the changes and all of the building still changing. Closing his lapis lazuli orbs, he leaned back and let the breeze rouse his usually tense muscles into relaxation as he reminisced the journey into now.

The years after the war were spent in the rebuilding of Konoha and all nations affected. It took a total of three long years, but people were now finally able to smile again. While in the first couple of years, the villagers displayed a trauma for strangers, now everyone displayed a joyful disposition towards visitors and the neighboring villages. Alliances brought everyone closer together and gave closure to the numerous losses. Naruto could proudly say it was the step towards peace that he'd dreamed of. With his eyes still closed, he inhaled the scent of his surroundings and let out a blissful sigh.

"Why do you always seem to know where I am?" Seriously, no matter how much he always changed up his hiding spot, the genius could still find him within the hour.

Shikamaru let out a low chuckle, stepping closer to the blonde. "I need to prepare for when you get in office and start slacking off." With an annoyed huff, he crouched down beside Naruto and stared up at the sky. "Three years, huh?"

"You sound so old."

Pouting, though he'd never admit to it, Shikamaru looked straight into the blonde's eyes accusingly. "You ready to talk to him, yet?" Immediately, the boy tensed up and turned away. Away from the one person who knew him so well. Too well.

"You sound like an old man," was Naruto's cold reply. He was all too aware of who _he_ was that Shikamaru referred to. However, that didn't mean he was about to own up to the crime.

"I believed you've pointed that out already, but changing the topic wont get you out of it." The seemingly apathetic young man had grown so accustomed to being on the receiving end of his friend's attitude. "I get where you're coming from, really, but are you really going to continue this kind of childish and rapidly becoming annoying charade?" Man, caring was so troublesome.

Naruto quirked an eyebrow at the mini-lecture; he honestly had no idea whether to be offended at the insult or flattered that his normally too-lazy-to-care friend actually cared enough to want to talk about it. Weighing his options for a millisecond in his brain, he surmised that if he wanted to avoid the full lecture, the former was the way to go. "Hey," he let out with a scrunch of his face for added effect. "I am being extremely mature here! And if you want me to continue my wonderful act of maturity, you'd for once drop the subject. Geez, it's a beautiful day—best in three years, in fact—so let's enjoy it. Quietly. Without talking." Hoping that his less than subtle message was received, the blonde gave the brunette an exaggerated smile for emphasis.

And you could always count on good old Shika to catch on. So, the genius stayed quiet and turned his eyes away from the painfully bright smile. Less than five minutes passed before they were both chuckling under their breaths. Gradually, Naruto's laugh got louder and Shikamaru's smile grew wider in reaction. "You really never could stand the quiet for too long." _'Makes it impressive that you've avoided __**him**__ for this long._

Shikamaru watched as Naruto stood up and made to walk away. "Where ya going?" The blonde made a backhanded wave as he kept walking, "The only reason you took so much trouble to find me was 'cause Tsunade-baa needs me for somethin', right? Catch ya later." With that, the shinobi teleported off, reminding the brunette of the Fourth Hokage more than usual.

Sighing for what could be the hundredth time that day—the thirteenth, to be exact—Shikamaru looked back towards the only thing that could help him sort his thoughts. The clouds. Another failed confrontation. For a boy who used to be so simple-minded and easy to read, he grew up to quite adept at closing his mind and quite stubbornly, too. He took a second to admire his friend's resiliency. Only a second, though, since it was that resiliency that refused to get him his desired result.

Ever since the end of the war, the group had kept a pretty close relationship with each other. They made efforts to hang out together and deal with things as a group. When Neji left, he took with him the distance they kept from each other. The loss of a comrade brought them to the conclusion that losing another was far too great a loss to keep being distant with each other. So, they stuck with each other like a family.

Sasuke coming back and with a determination to do great things helped a lot too. Gone was the brooding teen that only longed for revenge, now replaced with a sort-of brooding young adult that trusted them and had a Sasuke-like openness to the idea of friendship between them. It gave them the hope they needed that bonds couldn't be broken. In addition, it raised their respect for Naruto for never giving up and seeing the greatness in people. After all, it was through his persistence that the message finally got across to Sasuke. Even when they had all given up.

He still harbored some hatred for Konoha, and after what he went through, it wasn't unfounded. It was obvious, however, that he was trying to move past that. He knew beside him was the generation that carried change with it. Also obvious, though only to those who knew him, was Sasuke's reason for the effort being put in trying so hard in the first place. Sure, the whole changing Konoha to be better was fifty percent of the reason, but there was most definitely another.

Nobody was stupid to Sasuke's saddened and bewildered glances whenever the one who he wanted to bond the most with turned the other way. Ever since he came back, Naruto has kept his distance and wouldn't so much as say a word to Sasuke unless absolutely necessary. _That's a feat in itself for a guy like Naruto,_ thought an honestly impressed Shikamaru. In groups, he manages to play it off like he really is involving everyone. But, that's exactly what he's doing; involving all parties so he doesn't have to focus on just one.

For the first year, it was obvious to all how much it irritated the raven and he didn't even try to mask it. Kiba and Akamaru would cringe at the killer intent seeping out of him. He would try countless ways to confront the blonde about it, but to no avail. The response always ended the same way. Naruto's usually bright blue eyes would fog up in that cold way they did when he was shutting you out, he would quickly avert them, and then he'd fire the brightest smile he had and laugh it off before walking away to mingle with others.

No one wanted to be on the receiving end of those eyes. To have someone as forgiving and trusting as Naruto shutting you out with that stare, those eyes made you feel like the scum of the earth. Sakura would know.

Konoha's only natural pinkette made the mistake of fearlessly scolding Naruto for being so unreasonable to Sasuke. Midrant, he voice died out when Naruto eyes clouded.

_ "I love you, Sakura. I really do, but this isn't really any of yours or anybody's business," was all he said before flashing a small, forced smile and changing the topic to a lighter one._

Right at that moment was when everyone who witnessed it discovered that, with Naruto, there were levels of trust he placed. Considered the life he lead, it was obvious why he had them. Their knowledge of Naruto's logic still did nothing to shield the hurt that he had yet to put them in the amount of trust they put him in.

After the realization that she was being unreasonable for yet another Sasuke-related topic as if now that Sasuke's back she has reverted to her old mentality, Sakura sobered up a bit and never brought it up again. It was obvious she couldn't intimidate him into doing what she says, and her Sasuke-is-always-right mentality had gotten the best of her when her friend needed her to trust him the most. Choosing to keep things as casual as Naruto was trying to make them, she just kept her mouth shut and felt relieved that he still kept his playful attitude towards her.

The cold shoulder did nothing to stop Sasuke, though. If anything, it amplified his resolve to find out what he exactly happened. During their group outings, he would comment on things to the group that would rouse an indirect response. The gang immediately got the hint and went on to doing what they could for the raven to help him talk to the person they knew mattered the most, though Naruto's responses weren't to Sasuke.

It still bothered Sasuke that he had to go through such great lengths to talk to the blonde, and Shikamaru honestly expected him to have given up by now considering how uncaring the Uchiha is to most things, but that just shows how much Naruto's presence matters in his life. He actually had given up last year for the whole year, then suddenly started this indirectly-speak-to-him plan. It was anyone's guess that he just wanted any form of contact with the blonde that he could get.

Shikamaru was aware of why Naruto was so adamant on keeping the quiet game going, but he still felt that the problem could be fixed. He promised to never tell a soul, and promises to the blonde were taken to the grave, so he made it his reluctantly procured mission to persuade Naruto to come out of his shell. It didn't help, however, that this was Konoha's #1 Most Unpredictable Ninja we were talking about and he always found new ways to avoid the topic.

On the other hand, it was obvious to the genius how much the topic hurt his usually happy-go-lucky friend. He vowed three years ago to always be there for him, so he tried not to push the blonde into anything that was too much for him. But, the shinobi was strong, and Shikamaru would always be by Naruto's side no matter what.

Noticing, he'd been there for an hour already, the brunette huffed and stood up, muttering, "Well, there's still another chance during the BBQ tonight." With that, he headed towards the Hokage tower where he knew the Hokage would chew his head off for slacking off.

* * *

><p><strong>So there you have it! What did you think? Any constructive criticism is welcome as long as it's not a flame.<strong>** I'm looking for a Beta, so anyone who's willing can PM me.  
><strong>

**R&R please. **

**Peace out.**


	2. Chapter 2

**And here's the next chapter! Thanks so much guys for the reviews, and faves and follows. I really didn't expect that.**

**I think that's what motivated me to come up with the next chapter so soon. Really, though. That's a feat in itself for me, who hands in essays weeks after they're due. I can't write 250 words without complaining about everything known to man. Hence, my own surprise at myself when I managed to come up with almost 4K.**

**Holy shiet. Must have really been dying to put this story on paper.  
><strong>

**Anyway, without further ado~**

**Disclaimer: Do I have to do this for every chapter? I mean, I already established in the first one (which is usually where people start reading, unless you're all weirdos) that I only wish I owned Naruto. Sadly, that right has gone to Masashi Kishimoto-sensei. Do I really have to dig my own sad hole by disclaiming every chapter?**

**Warning: Ehh... there's guy characters in this story.. that love each other and love to express that love, so if that bothers you, shoo. (no offense, you have your ideals, i have mine. but as it's a free country, i'm expressing my rights so you don't have to be here.)**

**Enjoy!**

* * *

><p><strong>Chapter Two<strong>

**Ashes and Wine**

For someone who hasn't lived in a cave years, he never could get used to the notion of waking up to the beautiful sunrise. Onyx eyes strained against the light with a silent groan, wondering how his window managed to be open when he made sure it never was. His internal alarm clock assured him that he shouldn't be up for another hour, which left him a little bitter at the sudden change of plans._ 'I should just go back to living underground.'_ The sudden caress against his torso intruded upon his thoughts, luring him back to the waking world. Turning his head to the side, he recognized the invader immediately.

Green eyes smiled at him in sleepy seduction as the fingers on his abdomen continued their rhythmic motion. "Good morning, Sasuke-kun," hummed a voice that any man would bow down to.

Taking into account, however, that Uchiha Sasuke does not fall under the category of Any Man, the man simply glanced her way before moving to get up. In hindsight, he realized that the room was the pinkette's, hence the open pink curtains. "Mornin'," he muttered, out of courtesy considering how uncomfortable he felt whenever moments like this one happened. In an attempt to avoid another awkward confession, he kept his gaze coolly towards the nearest exit as he made a silent walk to where he knew from his many visits was the direction of the bathroom.

Sighing in resignation, Sakura cast her eyes away from the direction the man of her dreams disappeared to. She had already expected that kind of behavior, as it was the routine they'd developed from the last few times this has happened. Wrapping the sheets tighter around her naked torso, she dejectedly whispered to the air, "Not even an ounce of love."

Just two years ago, Sakura had resigned herself to the fact that the raven could never harbor romantic feelings for her. Ino constantly reminded her that she was a better woman than the kind that pined over an unrequited love for years. Two years passed, and Sakura had finally begun to believe that for herself.

That is, until a party two months ago in celebration of Kiba and Hinata's engagement that led to ten too many beers on everyone's part—Sasuke surprisingly included. A couple of drunken stumbles and mumbles later, Sakura had woken up naked as the day she was born draped against the body of everyone's favorite Uchiha.

As if losing your virginity while intoxicated weren't horrifying enough, it had to be to the shinobi world's most emotionally challenged ninja. Waking up to the pink-haired _iryo-nin_'s years, Sasuke simply sat quietly on the edge of the bed with his usual unreadable expression. All he could muster was a low "sorry" before grabbing his clothes and jumping out through the roof, most likely considering it too personal to walk out through the door.

The week after couldn't be filled with more tension as the raven continued to avoid her with the same determination a person avoids the bubonic plague. While before he would at least grace her with his signature five-word-maximum responses, now he would avoid coming out with the group if she were involved. Worse yet, it took that simple week—those short seven days—for Haruno Sakura to realize the cruel reality that she had tried so hard to get rid of from a long and hard two years.

She was still in love with Sasuke.

The man who had no qualms with discarding her existence in his life after taking her virtue in a drunken need to satisfy his built up needs. Even worse than that realization was that she longed for it to happen again. During that week, she had woken up flushed and exasperated over dreams she couldn't control. Dreams of having those hands roaming her body as those lips caressed the most sensitive corner of her neck. She missed the scent of him. The scent of the man of her dreams.

So name any god she could thank for the blessing in disguise of a club outing that appeared before her another week later. The group simply wanted an excuse to have a good time before missions started up again in frequency and it came in the form of alcohol and music.

With careful planning, as she was sure Sasuke would be more cautious around her this time, Sakura kept her distance from the guys, watching her alcohol intake and chatting with the girls while waiting until her target got that familiar flush on his face. Conscious of her borderline obsessive behavior, she let herself forget about it all for the first hour on the dancefloor, focusing on the united movement of bodies and the beats that resonated all over. Yet, it all came back to her when she turned to find Ino, who by now was making her way back to the guys for a break.

She caught sight of the raven, her plan coming back to her like the flash of a camera once she noticed his flush and loose smile and the rest is history.

So many times after their arrangement began, she has confessed her feelings in hopes to turn whatever they are into something real, only to have him coldly reject her each time.

"_I'm only looking for something physical, Sakura," he'd say. "Tell me now if you can't handle it and this will all end immediately."_

As you can imagine what the pinkette's reaction would be, she would stay silent and take whatever she could get. Because even if she didn't have his heart, at least she had him.

Casting another heartbroken glance towards the door when she noticed the raven left the house, Sakura moved to get ready for another day of work and hopefully enough time to gain back her composure before the barbeque later today.

* * *

><p>Making his way down the busy streets of Konoha's commercial part of town, Uchiha Sasuke made sure no one noticed whose house he came out of. He normally paid no heed to the general opinion of the public; nevertheless, were people to suspect of his less than PG-rated relationship with Sakura, questions would arise as to the seriousness of it. Questions the raven wasn't in the mood to answer.<p>

While he couldn't deny the attraction to the woman, it all stopped at that. Romance irritated him and so did the pinkette's voice when it gushed out words of her so-called love. The tone held the same weight as the superficial confessions he has been hearing for so long from others.

Sakura's love for Sasuke was as blind as it was a cry for attention, bluntly speaking. In that love, she held her ideals for him along with her insecurities. With each proclamation, the raven couldn't help but feel guilt alongside anger whenever he had to crush the fantasy and pull her back down to reality.

She may have been his important teammate and friend, but that's as far as his care for her could go.

But he needed her around. Underneath the lust brought on by alcohol that first time lied a need to just be near someone. Sakura being so far the less annoying and more willing option, his inebriated brain connected the dots for him. She ended up his only option when paired with the fact that, despite everything, he trusted her to always be around.

He just wanted his friend back.

_That dobe._

So long a time has passed since he had someone to just be carefree around. He wondered now how he managed to survive all those days with Orochimaru without being consumed with a desire to implode. Glaring at all who so much as glanced in his direction, the raven went _jounin_, went about his daily duties, his mood now taking a downhill turn along with his thoughts.

* * *

><p>When Shikamaru found Sasuke later that day, the raven was glaring outside Naruto's door for god knows how long. Naruto had moved into a new house some time during New Year, but was only now able to host a housewarming due to the business of his schedule. The brunette, having cleared up all of his tasks for the day, thought to show up before everyone else arrived to get a nap in. Imagine his surprise, though it wasn't that big of one.<p>

"Yo, Sasuke," he greeted once he reached the gate. The Uchiha turned his irritated gaze towards the man in the ponytail and nodded. "What're you doing outside?" At Sasuke's deadpanned expression, he couldn't hold in the amused snort than came out. "Oh, right. Sorry. No worries, I'll open it."

With that said, he pulled his copy of the keys out and opened the door, not missing the angry flicker across Sasuke's eyes at the action before it completely disappeared. "Oi, Naruto! I'm here." Taking off his shoes, he heard the padding of feet from the kitchen heading to their location.

"Oh, hey guys," smiled the blonde. "Didn't know you were here already. It's so early." Whether he didn't noticed the blank looks from both his guests or was just ignoring them, the smile gave nothing away as he went back into the kitchen in a rush.

"Tch," was all Sasuke could say as he continued taking off his shoes and following after the energetic blonde. Both he and Shikamaru were aware that the wind-compatible shinobi had grown so intuned with his affinity that he could sense him from down the block.

'_Really,'_ thought Shikamaru with a shake of his head. _'He calls this mature.'_ Copying the raven's actions, he came face to face with what could be the whole grocery store. "Woah, overdoing it much, buddy?" Overdoing was an understatement when he spotted through the mass of food an actual crate that you'd find in the market holding just vegetables. He had hoped Naruto wasn't expecting him to help in the cleanup. He could shut down that dream right now if that's what the guy wanted.

Rubbing his head as a nervous habit, the blonde chuckled in an attempt to hide his growing blush. "W-well, this is my first real house, y'know. And this is the first time people are coming over. And, and, and I just want no one to complain about it, okay?" rambling on, Naruto finally stopped himself with a flustered pout.

"_Hai, hai_. I get it, no need to get mad," was Shikamaru's lazy response as he sat at the table next to Sasuke, who made himself comfortable by looking around, and put his head down between his arms.

Exasperated at the lack of response after all the face he just lost in a matter of seconds, all the blonde could do was huff and turn back to the counter. There was still time before people started arriving, and he wanted everything done by then.

After what felt like hours, but was probably only minutes, of silence apart from the chopping noise coming from Naruto, Shikamaru the Genius came to the conclusion that a nap was impossible given the tension so dense around the house that it could be cut with a butter knife. Casting a peek at Sasuke, who had somehow managed to find a tomato amidst all vegetables known to man in that crate, the brunette came up with an idea. This could be the chance he had been waiting years for.

"Naruto," the young genius started conversationally. Once he got the tilt of acknowledgement he wanted, he continued with as much boredom he could muster. "How much more do you have left?" To add to the nonchalance, he kept his head in his arms and looked towards the backyard.

"Um, gotta prep the sandwiches. The meat's already seasoned, so all I have to do is cut up the vegetables for the yakiniku. Gotta buy the sauces, too," the unsuspecting blonde thoughtlessly let out, having forgotten who exactly was in his house while recollecting his inner to-do list. "You can go ahead and nap, Shika."

"Nah, I'll go buy the sauces," the brunette had already reached Naruto by then to snatch the list of sauces away. "Sasuke can help you chop the vegetables since you're almost done with the sandwiches." Blue eyes widened and tan lips opened in an attempt to create an escape, but the brunette was ten steps ahead of him.

"I'm sure I can carry everything myself, clones are an unnecessary waste of chakra for housework when you've got helping hands available, and you need the help you can get unless you want to sound.. _childish and stubborn_." Then, leaning in he whispered, "Just talk, it doesn't have to be serious." With that, the lazy man moved out of the house with surprising enthusiasm.

Stunned, all Naruto could do was gape at the sudden turn of events. The day had started out so well, what with the beautiful morning, working going great, trade with Suna moving along with zero difficulties. Then Shikamaru—_the jerk_—decided to drop this bomb on him.

Suddenly aware of Sasuke's presence, Naruto abruptly turned back to the counter to his sandwiches. All he had left to do was cutting the crusts off and diving them into triangles.

All too used to this treatment, Sasuke grabbed the crate and placed it on the table. Taking his chances, but not really expecting anything, he distractedly asked, "How big do you want me to cut them?"

And Naruto contemplated ignoring the question, he really did. But Shika—_stupidhead_—really did have a point and those vegetables needed to be cut soon. "…One inch cubes are fine."

If Sasuke had been taking a sip of a drink, he knew it would have come out the way it came it at that moment. _'Did he just…'_ Only taking a second before screwing his composure back on his face, the stoic man pretended he wasn't waiting for this day for 1095 days and 13 hours. "Hn," was all he managed to coolly let out before starting his task.

"You can place them into this tray once you're done," came the calm instructions of the blonde as tan hands appeared in the raven's line of vision holding a tray covered with aluminum foil. Quietly, the Uchiha grabbed the bowl, only paying to those eyes that refused to meet his. As if in slow motion, he watched as that whiskered face turned to go back to the silence and he switched into panic-mode.

"Wait."

Sasuke hastily grabbed onto the blonde's wrist, startling them both with the urgency in his voice. Sure that he had the blonde's attention, he quickly let go and cleared his throat. '_What the hell is wrong with you, Uchiha?'_

"Can you show me how to do it?" Quite possibly the lamest thing he could ask given the situation, but there's only so much his brain could process at the erratic rate his heart was beating.

And those blue eyes regarding his with suspicion did nothing to calm it down.

"…Y-yeah. Hand me the carrot," and desperately trying to avoid eye contact, Naruto proceeded to washing and peeling the carrot. He could feel the raven's intense gaze, today more unnerving than any other day. Questions flittle through his mind a mile-a-minute, the blonde barely comprehending anything other than the brutal murder of the vegetable. _'When the hell is Shika coming back? What's taking him so long? Why'd I say anything? I should've made a Kage Bunshin. Why? Today was supposed to be like any other day. When is everyone getting here?'_ It took him longer than necessary to realize the carrot had been chopped perfectly.

"There," wiping his sweaty palms against the towel in his back pocket, the blonde wasted no time in getting back to his still uncut sandwiches, all the while praying for peace to finally come.

But when you've come so far on this arduous journey, you're not an Uchiha if you backtrack now without reaching your destination. "Hn. I'm surprised you didn't cut your finger off." And that tick behind the blonde mop of hair was all Sasuke needed to set his smirk firmly in place.

"Huh?" came the defiant tone from the man that had yet to turn his way. "What's that supposed to mean?"

Sasuke almost let his smirk drop, but he resisted. Yes, his target's voice hadn't elevated like it used to and the blond had yet to look at him. Be that as it may, Uchiha's always get there way.

"Just didn't expect you to be so adept at cooking."

"Well, you know what happens when you assume."

"No one can blame me for expecting a dobe to behave like one."

A pause. The tense squaring of shoulders. It took five long seconds before angry oceanic orbs locked onto onyx ones, and Uchiha Sasuke felt the adrenaline pumping through his veins as if he were in the middle of an S-ranked mission. Glare in place, Naruto fired back, "Well, asshole, I'm sure everyone can blame your clouded judgement on the stick shoved far up your ass."

"Of course, an idiot only knows how to spit insults when a nerve gets struck."

"Listen here, bastard. You better learn to quit while you're ahead." By now, Naruto's was flushed red and his teeth were gritting in barely contained fury. He was just about ready to take his cooking knife and jam is right into the bastard's face.

But the raven could barely contain the giddiness. This was what he wanted; someone to argue with. The _blonde_ to argue with. Three years have passed without these heated argument, and he honestly wasn't sure how he survived. Never had he felt so free than when he argued with the dobe about trivial matters. He felt like he had gotten his friend back.

"Why don't you make me, usuratonkachi?"

But god giveth, than he taketh away.

Sun-kissed lips opened to fire a retort, when suddenly they closed. Sasuke watched as, much like the changing of channels, those glowing blue eyes clouded and then shut. _'No! No, no no no no no!'_ Taking a sharp breath and exhaling loudly, the blonde turned back to his forgotten task.

"Na-," the raven was abruptly interrupted by the sound of a knife hitting the chopping board. "Get chopping. They'll be here soon," were the stiff words breaking through the tension.

However stoic he was raised to be, Sasuke could not simply let everything go back to normal after this. Shoving the blonde into the fridge, he slammed his arms on either side of Naruto to block his escape routes. Gone was the giddiness, not completely replaced with a desperate frustration. The blonde struggled to get free, cursing the inches the raven had on him. "Let me go, Uchiha."

"You've got to stop this, Naruto!" A faucet was opened and out came pouring Sasuke's anger from the last three years. "I don't understand! What do you have against me? Do you get joy out of pulling my chain? You make this grand show out of getting me to come back only to act as if I don't exist when I do. What do you want from me?"

"I don't want anything from you. Now. Let. Me. Go!" The struggle continued, Sasuke's hold on Naruto unrelenting. The shorter of the males refused to meet the other's eyes, further adding oil to the fire. By now, the Uchiha could no longer contain his mouth.

"You told me everything would go back to normal."

"You're the one who said nothing could ever be the same again."

"Since when do you ever listen to what I say?!"

"Since I realized the truth in your words"

"_Why?!"_

"BECAUSE I DON'T TRUST YOU!" Startled, the raven loosened his hold, giving the blonde the opportunity he needed to shove him off. Panting, they looked straight into each other eyes. The eyes spoke what the owners couldn't articulate. In Naruto's, Sasuke saw anger, above all. Followed closely but fear, sadness, and surprise. "You act as if it's so simple now. When you cut all ties with me as if I were a piece of string. You're selfish. You thought only of own misfortune, not one care at all that the first bond I ever held so dear was you. Then, you just shove it in my face that I will never understand your pain as you step over mine as if it's so insignificant. And then, with a simple regard for my feelings, you come back once you have all of your answers and expect everything to just fall into place. How did you think I would react? What did you expect?" He shouted out the last part of the half-hysterical rant.

_What did you expect._

He did expect everything to fall into place like a puzzle. It seemed only fitting. After coming to conclusions and getting answers to his questions, Sasuke believed that everything would be fine again. He avenger quest was over, so there was no longer any need for drama. "I… I wanted things to be the way they used to be."

At that, all Naruto could do was let out a breathless laugh. "That's not possible. We're no longer the naïve rivals we used to be. Too much has happened to simply 'go back.'"

"I don't know, then! Let's start as normal friends, then." Frustrated at the blonde's lack of response, the raven kept his anxious stare on those blue eyes that were unsuited for that tired expression. That's not an look Naruto's allowed to show. He needs to be smiling or angry. Not tired. _'He can't give up on me.'_"P-please. I don't.. I don't black you for not trusting me. I don't. But you can't have missed that I'm trying to change. I came back. Despite how I may have acted in the past, I care about our bond, Naruto. You don't have to trust me right off the bat. Just _please_ give me another chance. _Please._ Don't shut me out again. Not after…" '_Not after today.'_ Sasuke didn't need to finish that sentence for the blonde to know what he meant. He grasped at straws, having a tasted of heaven and no longer satisfied with anything lower. The desperation was clear on his face now, as he no longer cared about something as trivial as hiding his emotions from his best friend.

And Naruto hesitated.

He couldn't bear to see the look on the raven's face. There was so much vulnerability on display for only him to see, and he sincerely didn't know how to respond. '_Can I trust him? But… I don't want to be disappointed. But, he honestly wants to be my friend. He never said that before…'_ The two continued to stare at each other, battling silent wars within themselves.

Only to be broken by the opening of the front door. "Oi," yelled a tired Shikamaru from the entryway. "Come help me bring all of this in."

Seemingly brought out of a daze, Naruto distractedly snapped his head in the direction the voice was coming from. "Uh, yeah. I'll be right there." Walking towards the door, he hesitated slightly when passing the dejected body in front of him. In a low and softer tone, he said, "Come help too… Sasuke," and proceeded to the door to help get the bags from Shikamaru.

Briefly as he followed Naruto to the entryway, Sasuke wondered if such an intense magnitude of relief at having his name called should be normal. Yet such thoughts were quickly discarded as the joy coursing through his veins clouded his thoughts all the way to his periphery. So much so, that the small action of Shikamaru's hand lingering three seconds too long on Naruto's was missed.

**To Be Continued**

* * *

><p><strong>There you have it! I hope you guys liked it. Next chapter will come probably around the weekend since I have work. They'll probably get longer as my experience writing this grows, hopefully.<strong>

**Anyway thank you so much for the all the faves from _Akirakun17, Hannahneko, Karishiana, MuriFanfiction, PrincessAnime08, Sayuri36ani, SharinRaven876, darkhuntressxir, inu557, oleto95, _and _susan2516_. I appreciate it and hope you liked this chapter! 3**

**Oh, and before I forget. In response to a Guest review:**

**I actually looked reread that chapter where Choji got injured cuz I had completely forgotten about in all that has passed, but it's not actually confirmed what happened and no one's brought it up again, so I'm just assuming for my story's sake that he made it out alive. If it turns out that he died, I'm going to cry some. ;_; Ino happiness is kinda dependent on his life in this story, so...**

**Thanks for telling me, though! I really had completely forgotten. Too much Obito and Madara drama going on now.**

**So, what did you guys think? R&R please~**


	3. Chapter 3

**Oh, how deeply I apologize to you all. I have no excuse; I was just being lazy. It was shounen month, then shoujo month, then yaoi week, so I simply didn't think of the story at all. It wasn't until **_**shia-naru**_** reminded me of the loooooooooooooooong delay I've put you guys all through.** **Soooooo sorry! _ **

**But, honestly, thank you all for being so patient (or just forgetting about the story in general) and following. There were so many follows in my absence that my laziness is too strong to name you all, but I love you for following! Muah! xoxoxoxoxo It's not as long as I originally wanted it to be, but I promised Friday, and I must fulfill it (though it's 12am).**

**Also, I caught up to Naruto (which I must disclaim, because I don't have to patience to dedicate 678 chapters to ninjas), and I'm going to probably ignore the whole [DON'T READ THIS SENTENCE IF YOU'RE NOT CAUGHT UP] Sasuke-Naruto-spirit-chakra-brothers-sage-thing for the story or maybe not make a big deal out of it. Not sure yet, kinda wasn't expecting it (though I probably should've, oh well). **

**Anyway, please enjoy my baby! I tried making it long enough that no one will want to kill me until next week (...or the week after)! 3**

* * *

><p><strong>Chapter 3: What's Hidden in the Cracks<strong>

Before long, everyone arrived and all was wholesome entertainment again. The house filled up with everyone's smiles and best wishes and, since having moved to the house, Naruto found that this was the liveliest it's been.

Ino managed to bring along her famous potato salad, along with a flower arrangement from her shop as a present. Choji, simply being his regular endearing self, brought some health tablets to compliment the ten jumbo bags of chips he gifted. TenTen came with a wonderful antique katana for him to put on display in the house. Lee gifted Naruto with a custom-made gree training suit that has his name embroidered youthfully on the back. Sakura brought Naruto a month's supply of instant ramen, god bless her soul. Kiba almost gave Naruto a puppy, but that plan was thankfully thwarted by his lovely wife Hinata, who told him Naruto was rarely home to ever take care of the child. Instead, they settled for a portrait of all of he Inuzuka family dogs to hang... somewhere.

Once everyone arrived, they all moved towards the backyard to enjoy the sunny setting and smell of nature. Of course, on a mission, the smell of nature is all you're surrounded by, but rarely was it accompanied by the serenity they all felt at this moment. Unlike in missions, they could get back to just chatting and eating mindlessly.

And if anyone was unsettled by Sasuke's slightly happier aura and Naruto's slightly tighter smile, there was no indication of it.

Even is the glances Sasuke would throw at Naruto every two minutes had become something of the norm for the group after the years, today his eyes held a spark in them. Some sort of hope replacing the usual confused irritation they were used to seeing. If Naruto's discomfort weren't blatantly obvious to even Lee, Sakura would have immediately bombarded the two with questions excitedly over this new development. As it stands, though, the eager pinkette would have to stick to pretending to pay attention to Ino.

Meanwhile, Naruto flipped burgers like there was nothing else in the world to do but that in a meaningless attempt at soothing the endless amount of doubt circulating through his brain. He weighed the pros and cons of trusting Sasuke again over and over, only half paying attention to his surroundings. Cooking to him worked in that similar therapeutic way meditating helped others sort their thoughts. No one could bother him when cooking, and neither did they want to unless they risked starving.

'_How did we use to even talk before?'_

**With your mouth, dumbass.**

It took nearly all of Naruto's strength not to twist at the smart-ass remark he recognized all too well. Inwardly groaning at the interruption to his thoughts, Naruto managed to play off his eyeroll as a shift in attention. Skillfully, he turned the burger in the far right corner of the grill.

'_Ever heard of a rhetorical question, ya annoyin' fox face?'_

**Don't blame me. Even you should realize how stupid that sounded,** The beast sneered at the twitch that found its way out Naruto's mask of indifference. Kyuubi just loved getting on the child's nerves.

Like an echo in his head, another beast growled within th**e** recesses of Naruto's mind.

**Shut the hell up, Kurama! Your voice is as annoying as your entire existence.** He couldn't say he was surprised at the Ichibi's follow-up outburst as was the routine response whenever Kyuubi decided to talk. After becoming the Sage of the Six Paths, even if it was only a temporary transformation to defeat Madara, Naruto found it hard to get rid of those voices in his head.

While the nine beasts usually chose to mind their own business and were able to shut him out at all, whenever they did decide to talk it was mostly all at once. Not long after Shukaku's outburst, all beasts began taking sides between the two and so ensued the pointless banter in the blonde's hand. Were it not for the fact that the same often happened to Bee, Naruto would have just assumed he was schizophernic. All too soon, he felt his head pounding and mood darkening.

Naruto only thanked the heavens that his escape came to him in the form of reality. He started back into the picnic, realizing everyone had stopped to stare at his agonized look.

"W-What happened, Naruto-kun?" came the shy and concerned question from Hinata, her eyes finally able to look him directly in the eyes after years of trying.

"Eh, nothing happened. Just frustrated that even in my head I can't think properly, haha," joked back Naruto, knowing that no one really understood what he meant by that. Shikamaru gave him a knowing look as he passed by him. He was sweet, really. The blonde had come to recognize that habit the brunette had of moving to a closer proximity in moments like this to show that he was worried about him. He gave the overly concerned man a reassuring smile and went back to the almost done meat in front of him.

**Aww, look at him, sharing a moment with his boo,** the beasts all cackled in unison, only being so united when it was at the blonde's expense. **Now is the moment when they hug and proclaim how they'll always be there for each other...**

"...You guys fucking suck."

**Nah, we'll leave that all to you, boy.**

Barely surpressing his growing blush, Naruto directed his attention back to the current source of his problems: Uchiha Sasuke. The black-haired man had been staring at him for the past hour, as if concentrating on a task so difficult it could determine the fate of the world. Their eyes met, turning their surroundings into white noise. A silent conversation passed between them until Naruto averted his eyes as Sakura called for his attention.

"Hey, Naruto! Rumor has it around the village you've got yourself a girlfriend." The woman held him by the arm to prevent the man from avoiding the topic. She knew how dodgy the blonde could be.

Naruto let out aloud laugh, a knowing glint in his eyes as he answered.

"I don't have a girlfriend, Sakura-chan."

"Don't lie to us, blondie!" Kiba stood up from his chair and draped an arm over the still grinning man's shoulder. "We're not stupid enough to miss the signs. You've been skipping out on group nights lately and don't think we didn't notice you bought a house with an extra room!"

"Dogbreath, in case you haven't realized by now, I'm a ninja, hence I have missions. Our hangouts just so happen to clash with those. And is it so bad of me to want a house I could actually proudly have friends stay over in?" At the last question, the blonde made sure his blue eyes widened more so than usual, enough to cause to perspiration around the corners, and looked straight at Kiba. Unable to produce a rebuttal, the dog lover slumped his shoulders and grumbled off to his wife.

"No!" a shout sounded from behind Naruto. "That can't be all there is to this." Ino had a hard time believing her favorite blonde other than herself was still single. The ninja had gotten so good looking as the years went by that he even developed a pretty big size of admirers. Sure, it wasn't as big as Sasuke's, but it was rapidly getting there. What with his capabilities and charisma to perfectly enhance his looks.

Speaking of Sasuke, Ino glanced to the growing darkness coming from the person-slash-demon next to her. She had noticed the Uchiha's irritation started with the lover's conversation and her inner fangirl rejoiced. He was already in the house when they arrived, meaning Naruto let him in of his own free will, meaning they had made up—meaning finally things were getting juicy again!

Yes, she figured it was probably something a bit less related to her fantasies, but a girl could indulge a little longer.

Meanwhile, the raven couldn't believe how agitated he was becoming at the topic. Of course he felt happy for his best friend—though the blonde begged to differ—having found someone that loved him. He knew how badly the jinchuuriki longed to be loved and appreciated. And the blonde deserved everything if not more of the love he got after all he went through for the village.

This, however, made things harder for the Uchiha. In his improvised plan of gaining the blonde's trust back, he already had to consider the difficulty with missions and group nights getting in the way. Now, he had to factor in the appearance of a nuisance lover taking up his time. The thought of having to share his already limited time with Naruto had Sasuke clenching his fists under the table.

Putting his palms up in a placating manner, Naruto calmly regarded his curious group of friends. "Geez, calm down. I most definitely do NOT have a girlfriend. I promise. I have no idea where you've been hearing these rumors and whoever it is spreading them has a wild imagination. On a very related note, I heard Shino got a girlfriend. Is that why the hoe decided to miss my Naruto's Spectacular BBQ Housewarming Extravaganza? Can I kill him once?"

"Oh, don't think you're getting out of this yet, you-Yeah, I think bugboy did find someone. I saw him with a purple haired girl the other day." Sakura started after claiming a seat back at the table. Distractedly, she grabbed some of the chips and threw them into her mouth.

"That player! I totally saw him with some brown haired chick just yesterday!" Ino further went on to mention the list of other girls their resident sociopath was seen associating with.

Kiba grinned proudly at no one in particular and added, "Damn, bug boy's getting some."

Thankfully having dodged that bullet, the blonde escaped the rant by grabbing an empty tray and heading back into the house. He loaded the tray with more meat and whistled a tune, failing to catch the entrance of another person into the kitchen until they were right in front of him.

Looking up, his gaze was immediately caught by the same pair of dark eyes he'd been having a hard time acknowledging. Out of force of habit, Naruto felt compelled to avoid them before remembering the recent turn of events. Hoping he didn't look as out of sorts as he felt, he opened his mouth.

"Can you grab the extra sauces and drinks and help me take them back out?"

Onyx eyes flickered for a millisecond in relief, and Naruto inwardly startled at that, before they went back to their usual nonchalance. It seemed the Uchiha also had no clue how to proceed with the sudden change in their relationship.

"Hn," was the man's only response before he went to pick up the aforementioned items. Sasuke could not express in words how the tension left his shoulders once he came to the revelation that Naruto wasn't going to ignore him in public. While not the casual chatter he aimed at, it was a considerable step up he could work up from.

The simultaneous bulging of everyone's eyes once Naruto and Sasuke entered the backyard with Naruto actually beside Sasuke and not way ahead would have been a comical sight were Naruto not currently avoiding eye contact with them all. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Sakura opening her mouth before being stopped by Ino's hand on her shoulder. Naruto gave the fellow blonde an appreciative smile and the woman returned it with her own understanding one.

Wordlessly, the two men went towards the food table and silently placed everything down. Naruto muttered his thanks—eliciting further eye popping looks—and Sasuke simply sat back down.

Whether he meant to cut the awkwardness or was honest-to-God hungry, no one protested Lee's shout for food as he ran to Naruto.

"My good friend, I thank you for bringing with you more meat which was necessary to fill our youthfully bottomless stomachs. The sauce had regretfully run out before you so graciously provided us with another! You truly are the definition of a youthful comrade!" Eyes blazing with admiration, Lee hugged the life out of Naruto before TenTen managed to pry the green ball of excitement off of the blonde.

That was all it took to get everything to go back to the norm.

* * *

><p>Before they knew it, the sun was already beginning to set and the time came for all of them to start making their way back home. One by one the guests started to leave the house, throwing casual remarks to Naruto as they left. One even suggested that the next event at Naruto's house would be a rave and to spread the word to all the inhabitants of Konoha.<p>

Naruto very politely told Kiba where in his body he could shove that idea.

Sasuke lagged behind until they were all outside and he was the only one left inside. At the door, he turned towards the host. Making sure to keep a calm façade, the raven asked a question that had everything curious enough to stay behind to hold their breaths.

"Want to spar a bit tomorrow morning?"

All expected Naruto's usual cold shoulder to Sasuke's usual attempts to get alone time with Naruto. After all, this had been the norm for three years. The blonde's hesitation was evident, even to the usually oblivious Rock Lee. Blue stayed locked onto black as a silent exchange passed between them. No one expected the small stretch of whiskered cheeks as those blue eyes seemed to have been satisfied with whatever it is he was looking for in Sasuke's eyes. Hinata's gasp was barely audible as Sasuke felt his own heart stop for a few seconds. While he was still regarded warily—that much was obvious, they've been on good terms for less than five hours—he could see in his old friend's eyes a small spark of friendship. That same spark he regarded everyone with, that he had not been graced with for a long time.

While Naruto still could not yet trust how strongly Sasuke felt about their friendship, he realized that the raven was indeed trying to reconcile. They weren't going to be like before, but giving Sasuke a chance wouldn't hurt him like it did once.

"Sure, let's meet at the old training grounds. No one uses those anymore after the academy got new ones." The blonde then proceeded to close the door after everyone was gone and clean up the mess his friends left, his smile slowly becoming smaller as he worked.

At least, it couldn't hurt as much when he was prepared for it.

Right?

* * *

><p><strong>Thank you for reading, my tomo!<strong>

**How was it? Feedback, please. Tell me your opinions, predictions, objections (flames not appreciated or accepted)**

**Like I said, the chapter was supposed to be longer originally, but because I felt I was writing so much, this felt like the best place to end it.  
>By Monday (night, maybe), I plan on having Chapter 4 done since it's basically the second half of this one and then some. Goodnight bubus! 3<strong>


End file.
